Left atrial strain in fetal echocardiography - could it be introduced to everyday clinical practice?
J Perinat Med
; 52(2): 230-238, 2024 Feb 26.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38095322
OBJECTIVES: Prenatal cardiology is a part of preventive cardiology based on fetal echocardiography and fetal interventional cardiology, which facilitates treatment of congenital heart defects (CHD) in pediatric patients and consequently in adults. Timely prenatal detection of CHD plays a pivotal role in facilitating the appropriate referral of pregnant women to facilities equipped to provide thorough perinatal care within the framework of a well-structured healthcare system. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of left atrial strain (LAS) in prenatal evaluation of fetal heart and prediction of structural and functional disorders. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature review searching PubMed for articles published from inception up until August 2023, including the search terms "left atrial strain", "fetal echocardiography", and "prenatal cardiology" combined through Boolean operators. In addition, references lists of identified articles were further reviewed for inclusion. RESULTS: Our review underscores the significance of LAS parameters in fetal echocardiography as a screening tool during specific gestational windows (starting from 11 to 14â¯weeks of gestation, followed by better visualization between 18 and 22â¯weeks of gestation). The left atrial strain technique and its parameters serve as valuable indicators, not only for identifying cardiac complications but also for predicting and guiding therapeutic interventions in cases of both cardiac and noncardiac pregnancy complications in fetuses. Evidence suggests establishment of second-trimester reference strain and strain rate values by speckle-tracking echocardiography in the healthy fetal cohort is essential for the evaluation of myocardial pathologies during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Finding of LAS of fetal heart is feasible and probably can have potential for clinical and prognostic implications.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ultrasonography, Prenatal
/
Heart Defects, Congenital
Limits:
Adult
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
En
Journal:
J Perinat Med
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article